This invention relates generally to hunting or gutting knives, and more particularly to a gutting knife which is retractable into a retaining member located beneath the handle and which can be carried safely in a holster.
Various types of knives with retracting blades are known. Pocket knives with retractable blades are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 217,623 (Leonard); and U.S. Pat. No. 684,016 (Weidknecht). A pocket knife with a retractable blade for fisherman for disgorging hooks and removing scales is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 1,788,656 (Brown). Other patents which disclose skinning or gutting knives with retractable blades include U.S. Pat. No. 2,906,021 (Cromoga) and U.S. Pat. No. 3,839,788 (Addis).
Knives with retractable blades and guards which fold into the handles are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 770,118 (Rowland) and U.S. Pat. No. 1,265,723 (Bader).
However, none of these patents disclose a hunting or gutting knife with an intermediate member between the handle and the blade into which the blade retracts, enabling the knife to be carried safely in a standard holster, and to be of extended length when in use.